VOLUME 5 NUMBER 1 (January to June 2012)

EDITORIAL

CLIMATE CHANGE AND DISASTERSCIENCE IN THE PHILIPPINE SETTING

by Helen T. Yap

WHAT IS "CLIMATE CHANGE," ANDHOW DO WE MANAGE IT? WHAT ISAPPROPRIATE ACTION FOR THEPHILIPPINE SETTING? These questions,though succinct enough, harbor a complexhistory behind them. And, the answers are not at allstraightforward. Any scientist will acknowledge that earth'sclimate has always been changing, as witnessed by theprocession of ice ages and interglacial periods in the recenthistory of the planet. However, what is at issue now is whetherhuman impact has been so significant as to influence the rate atwhich the climate has been changing. The debate has beenheated, and continues to simmer. There is a school of thought,probably now the dominant one worldwide, that maintains thatincreasing emissions into the atmosphere of carbon dioxide andother greenhouse gases (such as methane, even water vapor)have created the so-called planetary "greenhouse effect," leadingto overall global warming. But there is also compelling evidencethat it is the intensity of solar radiation that correlates positivelywith global warming, providing an alternative view to the carbondioxide-greenhouse interpretation.